Music

In addition to my writing, I also have a penchant for music. In the coming weeks I’ll be putting some samples on here, as well as more information about my music and where it can be purchased.

A bit of background on the song Carry On… I wrote this song shortly after the tragic death of Phil, a boy I worked with in Havelock. I met Phil when he was just 8-years-old. Together we found his lost dog out at the Humane Society, and Phil became my friend after doing so. Phil used a lot drugs between the ages of 8-17, and we were reunited again at the Attention Center, where I was a counselor and he a client of the facility. Lucky me, I got to be the counselor who checked him out when he was sent to YDC in Kearney. A sad sight it was, too. Phil wearing handcuffs and shackled at the ankles.

On the night he died, I honestly don’t think he meant to kill himself. But he was constantly putting a shotgun to his chest, and taunting his girlfriend to take it away from him. When she reached for it, I think Phil accidently pulled the trigger, and ended his life. His life is honored in my song, for his death has probably touched me more deeply than I know.

A bit of background on the song 3542 Saint Paul Avenue… One night while seated on the old porch there on Saint Paul, my friend, Craig Cline, made the remark, “3542 Saint Paul Avenue. Hey, that rhymes. You ought to write a song about us and how we grew up!” And so, I did. It’s been used each time I speak to juveniles about growing up like wild, untamed stallions hell-bent for self-destruction. I hope each time, that they get the message.

A bit of background on the song Craig’s Song… Craig Cline was my best friend while growing up both in Havelock and the Uni. Place areas. This song chronicles are younger days as kids, wading in Dead Man’s Run, shooting out street lights with our BB guns, and having sword fights with broom sticks and garbage can lids as shields. It also speaks of how we grew up and formed a band. Craig was the drummer and I played guitar and wrote the songs we performed. When he died of cancer at the young age of 21, he left behind his wife, Laurie, and his two kids, Crystal and Jesse. But he also left a big hole in my heart, for I miss him to this day. The last line of the song says it all.

Storm Haven: imagine a light house sending out it's beacon on a stormy sea. On the sea is a boat, badly battered by the wind and the waves, its sail torn and tattered. Inside the boat is a world weary, forlorn kid, seeking a safe haven. Now apply this to a kid who picks up one of my books, and as he sits reading in his cell at some detention center or in his room at treatment, his imagination is suspended for that brief time as he finds a haven from the storm.

Use the button below to donate to Storm Haven, or contact me if you would like further information.